Amar’e Stoudemire was given a “mental break” this week by Mike D’Antoni. Moving aside the fact that Amar’e seems to miss a lot of practices this year for non-injury reasons, there are some interesting dynamics on the Knicks being reported by the New York Daily News:

“Looks like Amare is in a funk,” said one Eastern Conference GM this past week, after watching Stoudemire play without his normal maniacal intensity in the Knicks wins over Orlando and New Jersey, while Anthony was putting up more than 30 points and getting the shots in crunch time in both games. “But you could expect that when they made the trade for Carmelo.”

Of course you could. For the first 54 games of the season, Stoudemire was having the time of his life in New York, enjoying his role as King of the Knicks and the teams lone star. Finally, he had the big stage he craved and his own team he could never have in Phoenix.

Now he’s got Anthony, who loves being a star and a celebrity, who is easier to get the ball to on the perimeter, and, as you may have noticed, to hold it. For long stretches. Before he shoots.No wonder Stoudemire needed a couple of days this past week to get a break. It’s not easy getting passes inside, or competing against Anthony, another “alpha dog,” to use Mike DAntoni’s term.

“I think it makes a difference, it could be for good or for bad, you’d have to ask him about that, exactly,” DAntoni said. “But we’ll try to make it for the good so he doesn’t have to carry the load down the stretch.”

The weird thing is: Amar’e Stoudemire is way more important to the Knicks’ future than Anthony. Anthony’s an elite player, don’t misunderstand me. But what Anthony does, many players in this league can do. But as far as a power forward that can nail the elbow jumper face-up out of the high-post, drive inside, finish off the pick and roll, tap in putbacks, and work over opponents in the deep post? Those guys are harder to come by than gun-and-gun (the running is optional) wings. Anthony’s a fantastic component to add to the Knicks. But with a complimentary player, even if he’s considered better, in Nash next to him, Stoudemire made multiple Conference Finals, challenged champions, made his mark on the league. Anthony, apart from one magical run in a down year for the conference, mostly just came into the first round, shot a lot of jumpers, and then was quietly asked to leave. If you want to buy into the clichéd “some guys are just winners” model (which I don’t), Stoudemire fits that better than Anthony.

The Knicks were only in a position to gamble on a trade for Melo because of where Stoudemire had taken them. It’s undeniable that Stoudemire still leaves gaping holes on the floor in defense and rebounding. But in terms of elite big men in the league, it’s hard to find a power forward outside of Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki more valuable right now. As well as Carlos Boozer has played, the Bulls would be better with Stoudemire finishing off Rose lobs and taking some of the pressure off as a multiple-post offensive player. As … nice as Chris Bosh has played, the Heat might be the actual fearsome threesome they were supposed to be had they had Stoudemire’s no-nonsense aggression versus Bosh’s wafting wavering. That the Knicks are likely first-round fodder does not speak to Stoudemire, and in fact, speaks to how Anthony, at least in terms of this season’s hopes, was too high a cost to maintain the Knicks’ momentum.

Anthony’s going to continue to get the ball because he’s more of a power player in terms of politics as a member of the CAA group that includes LeBron and Wade. He orchestrated his way out of Denver for half the Knicks’ roster, is a perimeter player, and has shown he and his agent will get their way. But the Knicks need to realize that Stoudemire isn’t a role player. He’s the best overall player they have. That’s what got them into the playoff race to begin with. Melo’s a great player. But giving him the reins could put the Knicks on a bad path.

Covington has missed the last 34 games while recovering from a right knee bone bruise, originally suffered on December 31 at New Orleans. Covington had made improvements in his recovery and had progressed to on-court activities, in preparation to rejoin the team. However, he recently suffered a setback which will require further treatment before returning to the court and as a result, is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Rose has missed the last four games while experiencing soreness and swelling in his right elbow. An MRI taken Tuesday at Mayo Clinic Square revealed a chip fracture and a loose body in his elbow. The team and Rose are currently exploring further treatment options and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Teague has missed the last four games after reaggravating a left foot injury, originally suffered in December. On Tuesday, Teague received an injection designed to treat chronic inflammation. He will wear a boot and is scheduled to be reevaluated in approximately three weeks. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

The language – “expected to miss the remainder of the season” – allows the possibility of the players returning. But the Timberwolves wouldn’t set this expectation unless they were pretty certain the players were finished.

Covington deserved All-Star consideration, and maybe Minnesota would still be in the playoff mix if he remained healthy. He was also heading toward an All-Defensive team before getting hurt. I doubt 35 games, even at 34 minutes per game, will be enough to get him selected now. Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green clearly belong ahead of him. Covington has an outside chance for that fourth spot, though.

Rose had a bounce-back year after it appeared he could fall out of the NBA entirely. He looks like a solid backup point guard. He’ll draw plenty of interest in free agency this summer.

Teague has a $19 million player option for next season. He already seemed likely to exercise it, and this only increases the odds. The 30-year-old had a relatively down season.

Teague’s and Rose’s absences will leave the ball in Tyus Jones‘ hands at point guard. Jones has looked good in a small role, and this offers him an opportunity to prove himself before restricted free agency this summer.

Importantly for Towns, Minnesota’s depth at point guard allows him to play with someone credible at the position while he attempts to finish the season strong. There’s a lot of room to produce for the Timberwolves now, though Towns will likely face double-teams even more frequently.

Guard Jimmer Fredette has agreed to a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium. Team option on second season for Fredette, who is returning to NBA once he receives his clearance from China.

Fredette won’t change the course of the Suns’ season. They are and will remain one of the NBA’s worst teams. Though they need a point guard, especially with Tyler Johnson injured, Fredette hasn’t shown the playmaking ability to handle that position regularly.

At best, Fredette entertains late in a lost season and gives himself a chance to earn a role next season. The team option gives Phoenix upside if Fredette pans out at no additional cost if he doesn’t.

At worst, he interferes with the development of younger Suns over their final 10 games. That seems more likely.

The Thunder should investigate this. Talk to arena workers who were in the area. Maybe fans, too. Racist jeers obviously shouldn’t be tolerated.

I’d be surprised if she shouted the n-word without it immediately becoming a major incident, though. As the Donald Sterling saga reminded us, that’s the type of racism is not tolerated by society. Discrimination in housing and employment – things that destroy lives – get ignored. People can get away with coded racist language and terms with racist undertones some are ignorant to. But get publicly exposed saying something clearly racist – especially the n-word – and a firestorm usually erupts.

Some have suggested she couldn’t have been yelling “Nader” because he wasn’t in the game. That doesn’t hold up. Fans often yell at players on the bench.

Again, I don’t know what she said. VanVleet’s and Siakam’s interest should prompt the Thunder to investigate and explain their findings.

When GM Elton Brand made the mid-season trades to bring in Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, he sacrificed depth to create the best starting five in the East: Ben Simmons, J.J. Redick, Butler, Harris, and Joel Embiid. For one night at least, it worked the way Brand envisioned it — the Sixers starters scored 110 of the teams’ 118 points, were +11 on the night, and propelled the Philadelphia to a confidence-boosting win over Boston, 118-115.

Joel Embiid was the instigator in the middle of it all. Before and after the game.

It’s not just the 37 points and 22 rebounds, although the Sixers don’t win without that performance. Embiid also was the guy who elbowed Marcus Smart on a screen — then Smart lost his cool, wildly overreacted in shoving Embiid to the floor, which earned Smart an ejection (and a fine in the next 48 hours).

Boston was never the same after that.

Embiid scored the next eight points after the ejection, and the fired-up big man was a force the rest of the way. Embiid bullied his way inside — determined to show he can score on Al Horford — and in doing so led an attacking style that got Philly to the free throw line 46 times in the game. Also late in the game, Boston ran plays to get Kyrie Irving switched onto Embiid and both times Embiid got the stop, including one impressive recovery and block.

Then in the final minutes, the Sixers turned the keys over the Jimmy Butler — he had two critical threes, then a dagger jumper along the baseline followed by a meme-worthy celebration.

If you’re a Sixers fan, there were certainly things to like out of this win, particularly down the stretch. They now have a matchup that works against Boston — they went right at Kyrie Irving’s defense and bullied him inside, then shot over him. Having Smart on the court would help Boston, but it doesn’t completely solve that problem. With this Sixers starting five, there is no place to hide Irving.

(Not that a meeting of these teams in the playoffs is any kind of lock, the Sixers are looking like the three seed, Boston will be four or five, meaning if they meet it will be the Eastern Conference Finals. And if that happens both teams will have evolved since this game.)

That said, there are Sixers questions still, specifically can they lean on the starters like this in the playoffs (Simmons played 42 minutes, Embiid 41)? There are no back-to-backs and more rest is built in, but it’s still asking a lot and at points Philly is going to need something from its bench. With staggered minutes for the starters the weaknesses can be hidden better in the postseason, but the bench still needs to step up. It’s a puzzle for Brett Brown to put together.

What we know now is this: These starters make the 76ers a threat and can take them a long way in the playoffs.

2) James Harden drops 57, Rockets still lose in overtime to the Grizzlies. Interesting stat of the night: James Harden has seven 50+ point games this season, but the Rockets are 4-3 in those games.

The one-man Harden show was back and it carried the Rockets again — he scored 28 of his 57 points on the night in the fourth quarter and overtime, and had 15 during a 17-2 Rockets late run. That included three free throws to tie the game and force OT after a ridiculously bad foul by Justin Holiday. The kind of foul that will give J.B. Bickerstaff an ulcer.

However, the Grizzlies are scrappy, and as an organization they are trying to win — they have to give a pick to Boston one of the next three years, they would rather do it this season. The pick is top 8 protected this draft, and currently Memphis has the seventh worst record in the league. If the standings do not change Memphis has a 14.2 percent chance of giving up the pick, but make up the 1.5 games it is behind Washington and that jumps to nearly 40 percent. Memphis wants to win games.

Jonas Valanciunas got the memo and helped them do that. He grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 0.1 left in overtime, sinking the game-winning free throw (he finished with a career-high 33 points).

Houston remains the three seed, but they are just half-a-game up on four seed Portland. Houston needs some more wins to make sure they don’t slide down the standings (and into the Warriors side of the bracket).

Since the All-Star break, the Thunder are now 5-10 with the worst offense in the NBA over that stretch (104.6 offensive net rating). That was on display Wednesday in a loss to Toronto, where the Thunder had a 100.9 offensive rating.

It forced overtime, but there Paul George fouled out, the Raptors scored nine in a row, and that was the ballgame.

With the loss, the Thunder fell into a three-way tie with the Spurs and Clippers for the 6/7/8 seeds in the West, with OKC technically being the eight seed based on tiebreakers. That would mean Golden State in the first round, the worst possible outcome for Oklahoma City. There are 10 games left in the Thunder season and they need to find wins fast or it could be a quick postseason for a team that just a couple of months ago was talked about as potentially the second best team out West.